


Smashed Perspective

by floriwatch



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, M/M, One-Sided Tseng/Reader, Other, Pre-FFVII Remake Canon, Reader Is A Cyborg, Reader-Insert, slight angst with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:34:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25727521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floriwatch/pseuds/floriwatch
Summary: Reno has always had a pattern. One he's always loved to repeat again and again. You were a part of that pattern for who knows how long. Switching it up once in awhile was always fun and this time was no different.But then again, he didn't know that you and Tseng knew each other. And he didn't like the feelings that came with that. And he didn't like all the new stuff he was learning about you either. Cyborg or not, you were still you. And he liked you.Now if only someone wasn't trying to kill him.(Reno, Tseng, and Reader meet in a bar and almost die. An adventure ensues.)
Relationships: Reno (Compilation of FFVII)/Reader, Tseng (Compilation of FFVII) & Reader
Comments: 9
Kudos: 28





	1. Meet Up

Nights off were something special to Reno. He could head to his favorite drinking hole, kick up his feet, let loose, and maybe even find someone to take home with him if he felt the need. But tonight was doubly special, because after literal years of teasing and persuading, and ok maybe a  _ little _ begging, Reno had done the impossible. He had actually performed an outright miracle. Pulled an actual fucking rabbit from an actual fucking hat.

He got Tseng to come too. 

This had to be the first time in YEARS since Tseng had done  _ anything  _ fun outside of work. No, anything fun period. Reno was sure of it. And yet, here he was in some dive bar in the slums dressed in a suit that cost more than what most of the regulars here made in a year. The guy didn’t even have the common sense to dress down. Reno was reveling in it. Reveling in the weird looks the patrons would shoot the overdressed man. Reveling in how the man stuck out like a sore thumb. Reveling in the fact that Tseng had absolutely no idea nor inclination towards what these people might be interested in or exposed to and could barely keep up with the strange synth music currently blasting throughout the bar.

Reno sipped his piss cheap beer and silently wished Rude was there as he watched Tseng once again have to move out of the way of an angry drunk. The man finally had enough sense to at least push himself up against a wall to stay out of the drunken patrons’ way. Reno decided to finally take some pity on him and stepped out from where he was enjoying the show. 

It was then that the night went from great to fantastic as he spotted a familiar tuft of hair in the crowd of dancing idiots. Reno immediately dropped his plans to rescue Tseng and made his way into the crowd instead, hoping to find a good “friend” of his.

Tseng was a big boy. He could take care of himself for a few more minutes.

-

You were fairly certain that this nasty dive bar absolutely packed with people that you started frequenting a few years ago was the absolute best place in the world. The beer was cheap and the people in this sector slum were always here for a good time, which meant plenty of people to mingle and mix with. Plenty of people to glean Mako off of too. Yes, over the years of hopping from sector to sector, this bar was definitely your favorite. If not for the exciting possibilities, then definitely for the absolutely exciting regulars. Your favorite of which you spotted when you walked in, his bright red hair and loud attitude catching your attention right away. The man had been hiding away in a corner, perched on a stool and preoccupied with watching something you hadn’t bothered too much to look into. 

You figured he’d come to you if he was interested and immediately began dancing, playing darts, and chatting up anyone that might offer you a bed that night. It was about an hour into this that you finally heard that familiar voice call out to you.

“Hey! (Y/n)!” You turned from a rather boring game of pinball to see Reno pushing through the throng of people on the dance floor.

“Reno,” you said. You offered a friendly smile, but didn’t conceal for a moment that you were checking him out. “Looking well as always.”  _ He wore those jeans I like. Nice.  _ Reno smirked and made a show of returning the favor.

“You’re not too bad yourself.” He pushed himself in close, invading your personal space all while looking you square in the eye. This was a song and dance you had done many times before with him. Instead of becoming boring and tedious like it did with many, it somehow always felt fresh and exciting with Reno. Though you remained still, Reno slipped a hand into your open jacket and rested it on your hip. The warmth buzzed against your skin and excitement thrummed through your body as Reno leaned in to whisper in your ear.

“Maybe later we could head back to my place.” You hummed affirmatively and Reno withdrew, clearly pleased with himself. The atmosphere shifted with him and the night felt a bit more alive. You liked that about Reno. He was hot as hell, sure. But things also just felt more electric with him around. He was easily your favorite to get picked up by, and then some.

You walked towards the table you left your bag at and Reno followed you as he began to ramble about random odds and ends that had happened since you’d seen each other last. It had been a month maybe? Apparently a lot had happened since then and the two of you spent the better part of an hour catching up. Reno had just launched into an anecdote about something that had happened at work when he froze, mild mortification streaking across his face. 

“Oh shit!” he said, jumping off the barstool and almost frantically looking around. You stood up and began looking around as well.

“What is it?” You asked, bewildered but helpful. Reno let out a choked laugh.

“I actually brought my boss here and totally forgot.” You couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter as you stared incredulously at him. 

“How could you forget something like that? Didn’t you say he was a total buzzkill? He wouldn’t last a second in here.” Reno shrugged nonchalantly and stood on his toes to get a better view of across the room. 

“Ah ha! There he is!” he exclaimed. Reno grabbed your wrist and started to drag you across the dance floor and over to the bar. “C’mon! I gotta introduce ya. It’ll be hilarious!” You let him take you, curiosity winning out over any fear you might’ve had. You knew Reno was a Turk, and you’ve known a few Turks in the past. How big and scary could the boss of the Turks be? 

-

Reno was practically alight with joy. First, he got Tseng to come to a bar with him. Then, his favorite civilian and hook up just so happened to be there too. And now he’s gonna introduce them. Reno wasn’t stupid enough to think that this was in anyway classy. Introducing your best booty call to your boss is taboo as hell. But this was Tseng, as serious as he is, he still liked Reno enough to come out with him tonight. And this was you. You weren’t just any fuck. You were  _ fun.  _ Great to talk to and be around. All in all, Reno’d even consider you a candidate for a relationship if he were into that kind of thing. Oh well.

Tseng was sitting facing the bar and his back to Reno. He must have moved while you and he had been talking. As Reno approached him, he could actually see that Tseng’s hair was slightly frazzled. It must have been a tough night without Reno to keep an eye on him. Poor guy.

“Hey Boss!” Reno cheered, a grin spreading wide across his face. Tseng’s head turned slightly as Reno approached him, your wrist still captive in his right hand. “I got someone you should meet!” 

Tseng turned around in his seat. The moment he saw you, Reno could tell something was wrong. Was that… shock on Tseng’s face? The Boss could feel emotions? 

“(Y/n)?” Tseng said lowly.

“...Tseng?” You questioned back.

  
  


_ What the fuck? _

-

Everything around you had stopped. The thumping music had faded out. The screams of drunken slum dwellers disappeared. The only thing that tethered you to the real world was Reno’s hand securely around your wrist. Otherwise, it was just you and Tseng. Tseng seemed to recognize you too, if that look he was giving you was anything to go by. There was a million things you could say, but…

“Hey there, stranger,” you said softly. A fond smile crossed your face, adoration pulsing through your veins. Tseng offered a small, knowing smile before resetting into his usual serious demeanor. 

“Yes, and I suppose it should remain that way.” He said as he turned back towards the bar. You rolled your eyes and chanced a glance at Reno, who let go of your wrist in favor of crossing his arms and staring wildly between you two.

“What the fuck?” He half whispered, confusion heavily apparent. You shrugged and smiled before nodding at Tseng and winking conspiratorially. Reno seemed to pick up, at least slightly, what you were laying down and joined you in leaning up against the bar, effectively boxing Tseng in on either side. 

“So,” you started, talking over Tseng to Reno. “Tseng is the new boss of the Turks?” Tseng didn’t move, but Reno nodded, clearly trying to sort out what was going on.

“Yeah, been that way for a few years.” Reno answered. There was a pause as Reno collected his thoughts.”The two of you know each other?”

“Yes.” You said.

“How long?” Reno shot back.

“A few years, give or take, I guess.”

“How’d you guys meet?”

“That’s classified.” Tseng interjected, finally looking up to join the conversation. He shot you a warning look and an even stronger one at Reno.

“But I’m second in command. Shouldn’t I know-”

“No,” Tseng was firm with this. You figured this was fair, given the circumstances. “Not this time.” Reno looked surprised, but accepted it with a shrug. You smiled apologetically at him before an absolutely ridiculous idea poisoned your mind. A silly smile bloomed onto your face as you draped yourself dramatically over the bar. 

“What?” You sung. “My knight in shining armor doesn’t want to regale the tale of our fated meeting?” Tseng glared intensely at you and your smile widened. “Oh my heart breaks with the mere thought that my beloved no longer wishes to know me as I know him!”

“(Y/n).” Tseng warned, his face an embarrassed pink. You knew you crossed the line and stopped your dramatics, but you had done what you had wanted to do. Reno was no longer uncomfortable or confused and instead was cackling at the display. You smiled fondly at Reno and then turned it onto Tseng. He eyed you, familiar but suspicious, and you couldn’t help the butterflies in your stomach. 

“You haven’t changed.” You said to him.

-

Reno knew you had just said that stuff to ease the tension, maybe even bring some peace of mind to him, but it was still an extremely funny thing to hear. Tseng, a knight in shining armor? Yeah right. Turks were attack dogs. Professional bad guys. Not knights. Reno did make it a point to remember what you said though. He was still curious as to how you two knew each other, and if the two of you wouldn’t tell him, then he’d have to figure it out on his own. 

Reno let himself get lost in his thoughts for a moment. So the two of you knew each other… Reno knew this wasn’t some sort of small world scenario. If it was classified, even from him, there must be something pretty big that Tseng or a higher up doesn’t want getting out. And there’s you, a wanderer with no ties in any sector and no identification in the system. An illegal alien of sorts. Reno had thought to bring you in when he discovered that, but it didn’t seem all that important and you’d probably just get arrested when crossing sectors for not having an ID... Except you weren’t, and never have been. Reno had always liked that about you. So clever and mysterious.

Reno smiled to himself and decided to check back into whatever you and Tseng were talking about. The two of you were talking quietly, you leaning in close with that strange smile of yours. It was that smile Reno only caught you using at him occasionally, usually after long benders on his vacations where the two of you would spend a few days drinking, having sex, and hanging out. Usually after seeing that smile, Reno could count on you disappearing for a while, but you always came back. Seeing you use it on Tseng made him feel… uncertain?

Not wanting to process these emotions any further, Reno groaned obnoxiously and stretched his arms across the bar, catching yours and Tseng’s attention.

“As lovely as chatting is,” Reno led, quickly gesturing to the bartender for a few drinks. “What this situation really calls for is a toast.” The bartender dropped off three glasses of cheap scotch to Reno. He gave them to the both of you and held up his own. 

“What is it that we’re toasting?” Tseng asked as he picked up his glass, eyeing it cautiously. You hummed in agreement, seconding the question.

“How about…” Reno trailed off, pausing to think. “Old friends?” Tseng raised an eyebrow at him and you chuckled, making the quip worth it, and the three of you knocked glasses. Reno downed his immediately while Tseng sipped at his glass slowly. You simply stirred your drink with your finger, a quirk Reno noticed when you first met. Kinda gross, but you weren’t hurting anyone so who was he to complain. 


	2. Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Turks and Reader run into some unexpected trouble. Reader ends up doing something unexpected. (Unexpected to Reno that is.)

“Well gentlemen,” you said. It had been about two hours since the three of you had met up. “It’s getting rather late and the bar will be closing soon. Any plans after this?” You shot Reno a knowing smile and he lit up a bit.

“Nope!” He cheered, a smirk adorning his face. He placed his glass down on the bar and began patting his pockets to see if he was ready to go. 

“Don’t we have the early shift tomorrow?” Tseng interjected. Reno froze and looked at Tseng in disbelief. 

“What? No! I thought…” Tseng’s raised eyebrow said it all. Reno groaned in exasperation and hung his head low. “I misread the schedule.” Tseng nodded and it was your turn to raise your eyebrows.

“The great workaholic and proud second in command of the Turks, Reno, misread his own schedule?” You did your best to sound taken aback, but really you were just amused. 

“I know, I know,” Reno continued, his ego reinflating. “But mistakes like this happen to the best of us! Even me!” Tseng stood and you gathered your bag as the bar cleared out. The three of you walked out together, Reno guiding you out by your waist. “Tell you what, Boss,” he propositioned. “Why don’t you go ahead in the car? I’ll walk (Y/n) back to where they’re staying and then I’ll take the last train home.”

“I don’t think-” Tseng started. Just then, the distinct sound of a bullet ricocheting off of metal echoed through the streets. Tseng and Reno reflexively found cover behind some barrels and boxes as the remaining civilians scattered. You casually joined your Turk friends a few seconds later. 

“So…” You said, crouching down next to them. Reno pressed himself against the wall of the building you were hiding by, trying to hear something, while Tseng lifted his head to see if he could see anything suspicious out in the distance. “We were shot at.” 

Reno looked at you in surprise. Weren’t you just a normal civilian? Shouldn’t you have freaked out and run for the hills by now?

“It appears so.” Tseng whispered back, still trying to locate the shooter. “Judging by how close the bullet was, and the fact that we didn’t hear a gun fire does indicate that the shot was from far away. We need to figure out if the shooter was shooting at someone with intent or if it was a misfire.”

“I’m pretty sure they were aiming for us.” You interrupted, gesturing to your shoulder. The two ducked deeper into cover to look at you. Your shoulder had been clearly grazed by a bullet, a clear line shot through your jacket and shirt. Reno couldn’t see any blood in the darkness of the night, so he figured it wasn’t too serious of an injury. 

“Eh, it was probably just a fluke.” Reno said, standing up, only for you and Tseng to immediately pull him down to the ground by his shirt. “Hey, what the-” Tseng cut him off with a look and turned to observe the empty street again. Reno turned to you, confused, only for you to point up at the wall above him. He looked carefully, and embedded in the wall, and right about where his head would be when he was standing, was a fresh bullet hole. “Great.” He snarked.  _ What a night to be without my nightstick.  _ He snuck a glance over at you and genuinely felt like pouting. He’d have to go without two nightsticks tonight, apparently.

Reno took a look around and snatched a section of rebar out of a box of scrap. It was a little bent and rusty, but it was a good length.  _ Eh. Close enough. _

“Reno,” Tseng whispered, pulling a handgun from his suit’s breast pocket. “I believe the assailant may be up on that roof over there.” He gestured to a building in the distance with his head. It was pretty vague, but Reno had worked with Tseng long enough to be able to read him. 

“Got it.” Reno confirmed with a nod. 

“Good. I’ll cover you. Be quick.” 

“What should I do?” You piped up. Reno was about to tell you to sit back and leave this to the professionals. He was about to tell you more quietly to find a safe place to hide and to not get anymore involved. But Tseng beat him to the punch.

“(Y/n), go around the other way and distract him. You’ll be shot at, so be careful.” 

“Sounds good.” You responded. Reno felt the gears turning in his head stop as he tried to process this. He saw that Tseng was about to signal the two of you and he threw an arm up to interrupt him.

“No. no. no. no. Wait. I’m confused.” Reno shook off the annoyed look Tseng shot him. “What do you mean ‘distract him,’ since when are we getting civilians involved?” 

“Reno. Don’t question me on this. Do as you’re told.” With that, Tseng shifted out of their hiding place and crept over to better cover. Reno, still dumbfounded, became even more confused when you placed a hand on his shoulder and offered a sympathetic smile.

“Things will make sense later. I promise.” With a squeeze that Reno figured was supposed to be comforting, you too slipped out of cover. He watched as you moved behind a low wall, only to be shot at by the assassin. As confused as Reno was, now really wasn’t the time to worry about this. With a shrug, he too slipped out from behind the boxes and around a corner, off to take care of business as usual.

-

It’d been quite some time since you’d been in trouble like this. You felt that it might be wise to lay low considering being arrested might end in your death, but a little fun like this never hurt. You were also with the two best people in Midgar to be shot at with. Reno, who was as skilled as he was dedicated, and Tseng, who knew who you were and would keep you hidden, were the definition of a good time in the right circumstances.

And boy, were these…  _ circumstances. _

A bullet whistled past your head with dreaded accuracy as you rolled away from the wall and behind a stack of crates. Being a distraction was easy. Be conspicuous enough to be seen, but not out in the open enough to get shot. Draw the gunner’s attention away from Reno and Tseng so that they could take him down. Easy. 

You maneuvered your way down the street and towards the sniper carefully. As you drew closer though, it became more and more difficult to avoid being shot. The bullets came much quicker now, with far better accuracy before. You had just barely missed having your eye shot out when you came to a clearing. 

You knelt in the doorway of a building and considered your options. Across the clearing was the building the assassin was on. Between here and there, was nothing. No boxes or barrels. Not even some scrap to use as a sheild. Looking up, you could clearly see him perched at the edge with a sniper rifle pointed towards you, waiting for you to emerge. You  _ could  _ use that fire escape to reach him, but…

You pressed yourself further into the doorway and accepted the situation. You had hoped Reno and Tseng would have taken the guy out before you got this far, but they hadn’t. You trusted that they were working on it, so you had to keep up your role too. Sitting here and waiting for them to attack wouldn’t keep the sniper’s attention for long. It looks like you’ll just have to take one for the team. 

You just hoped you could avoid getting hit in the face.

-

Reno hopped from building to building quickly and quietly. Thanks to your distraction and Tseng guiding him here and there from the shadows, he had remained completely unseen. He had worked his way to the building right next to the assailant’s just as he had seen you duck into an entryway and out of the line of fire. He had to admit that he was a little impressed. You’d dodged every bullet so far with remarkable skill. It took years of training for him to be able to do that, and here you were, some random civilian that wandered around the slums doing it no problem. 

Maybe you were a former Turk? But then he’d know you too… Maybe a soldier? Nah. He’d be able to tell.

Reno decided that not only was he gonna  _ finally  _ get laid tonight after this, but he was also  _ definitely  _ going to interrogate you too. There were too many questions not to. 

With that in mind, Reno prepared himself to launch over to the building and take out the sniper when he shot you a passing glance. It stopped him dead in his tracks as he watched with sheer horror and utter amazement at what you were doing. 

You had stood and were now walking in full view of the sniper. Not only that, but the assassin had switched guns and was now shooting a constant stream of bullets at you. At least  _ some  _ of them had to have hit you, and yet you kept going. Just casually walking towards the building. 

Reno turned to look at Tseng, who was currently hiding behind a sign a few feet from the clearing. Tseng motioned him to keep moving, but Reno ignored it in favor of gesturing to you. You had made it over half way through the clearing and were very clearly heading towards an alley on the side of the building. Tseng, annoyed at his refusal, angrily motioned Reno forward and Reno could feel his aggravation spike. So many questions.

Still, he had a job to do. Tseng was right, and so Reno threw himself into his work by literally throwing himself off of the building he was on and on to the other. He landed silently behind the gunner and readied the rebar in his hand. He was about to dash over and put a stop to this thing, when the assassin suddenly lowered his gun and turned around. They made eye contact, a split second passing, and then Reno lunged. The man dropped his gun in surprise and Reno was able to pin him down on his stomach easily. 

“Hey buddy,” Reno mused, digging his knee into the guy's lower back. “Who do you work for?” He raised the rebar above his head and delivered a quick strike to the man’s shoulder blades. It was pretty light by all means, but the man cried out in pain anyway. 

“Eat shit!” The man replied. Reno smirked and set the rebar aside. He reached down and grabbed a fistful of the man’s hair, yanking his head back sharply.

“Now, now. Play nice,” he threatened. From behind him he heard the sound of shoes against metal and figured it was Tseng coming to join him. “Tell me who you’re working for and why they want us dead and, maybe, you’ll leave here fully intact.”

“Hey, isn’t that…” It turns out that it had been you climbing to the roof. You stared at the man with a quizzical gaze, as if trying to remember something. 

“Aw fuck, it’s (Y/n).” The gunner definitely recognized you it seemed. In his surprise at your sudden appearance, Reno let his grip on the man slacken. The man took that brief opportunity and kicked himself up, knocking Reno off of him. He then bolted, jumping off of the roof and down a side street before Reno could react. Reno threw himself to his feet and made to go after him.

“Don’t bother,” he heard Tseng say. Reno stopped himself and turned to look at Tseng, who had just joined the two of you on the roof. “We’ll take care of him after we regroup.” Reno nodded, agreeing that it’d be better to go after the guy once he was better prepared. 

“I guess we do have everything we need to find him right here.” The two of them looked to you, who had begun rifling through the things the gunner left behind. 

“Sorry guys.” You said, picking through the last pocket of a worn out jacket. “No ID or anything. Looks like tracking him won’t be that easy after all.” You stood, brushing off your pants. Not that that would help the bullet holes in them. You looked around aimlessly a bit more before noticing that the two men were staring at you, Reno with an amused smirk and Tseng with a raised eyebrow. “What?”

“Are you serious?” Reno joked. Were you that clueless? Seemed so from the blank look you were giving him. You gave an awkward shrug and noncommittal whine. Reno heard Tseng huff out a sharp sigh.

“You do know him. Don’t you?” Tseng asked, mildly exasperated. Your eyes widened in realization.

“Oh. Right.” You said. Reno chuckled in disbelief.

Today just keeps getting better.


	3. Learn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno learns about Reader and Tseng's past.

Reno and Tseng had led you back to their car, a sleek black thing. You’d been pushed in the backseat without much ceremony by Reno, who joined you. Tseng sat up front and drove. The car ride was quiet, if not a bit tense. About ten minutes in, Reno offered to inspect your wounds, which is how you ended up shirtless with Reno pulling bullets out of your chest and shoulders with medical tweezers from a first aid kit. Luckily you don’t bleed, so it was pretty easy all things considered. It was too quiet for you. The silence made your skin itch.

“So,” you broke in. “How’s Hojo doing?” You asked it nonchalantly, hoping it wouldn’t amplify the tension any more. You felt Reno tense behind you anyway. Crap

“The same as always.” Tseng offered, equally nonchalant. You felt a burst of happiness at Tseng’s own attempt to play down the tension. This was part of the reason why you loved him so much. So considerate. Still. The response did disappoint you and you couldn’t help the small grimace that appeared on your face.

“A shame.” You said, almost bitterly. “I had hoped he’d be dead.” 

Reno slammed the first aid kit on his lap shut and threw it on the floor.

“Ok, I’m done with this shit.” He barked. You flinched and turned to face him.

“Reno,” Tseng warned.

“No, Boss. Tonight’s been one bullshit mystery after another.” He pointed a finger directly in your face. “You better tell me something or I’ll-” You reached up and cupped Reno’s face gently in your hands. Confusion and rage swam in his eyes and it hurt you to see him like this.

“Reno, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.” You conceded. Tseng shot you a worried glance in the mirror, but didn’t say anything. It made perfect sense why he wouldn’t want anything about this to get out, but you knew you could trust Reno. 

“How do you know Hojo? And Tseng?” Reno shot out. He pushed down your hands from his face harshly. You reached out and grabbed one of his hands and desperately held it. Less for his comfort and more to anchor you.

“Tseng and I met several years ago, back when he was a rookie in the Turks.” You looked over to Tseng with a mixture of fondness and regret, hoping to catch his eye. He, however, focused on driving. “I was an… experiment of Hojo’s.” Reno sucked in a breath, but tried to remain silent. His hand that you had held limply in yours tightened. You eyed him warily. “Do you know Chadley?”

“That weird robot kid that Hojo made to run errands for him?” Reno conceded.

“Yes. Consider me a prototype of him. A failed one.” Reno furrowed his eyebrows at this. 

“You were not a failure.” Tseng interjected. You gave him a sad smile. He looked at you in the mirror, stern but caring. Of course he didn’t see you as a failure.

“Why?” Reno asked after a long pause. You looked back at him. “Why were you a failure?”

“Well, believe it or not, if you develop an A.I. so advanced that it has free thought and will, it’s actually pretty difficult to create a program to undermine that.”

“Meaning?”

“Hojo made me so human that I gained a conscience.” Reno’s hand twitched in your own and the ghost of a smirk appeared on his face. Judging by the kind of man Hojo was before, you had no doubt that he wasn’t very popular now.

“Anyway, since he couldn’t control me and some of the tech used to make me was outdated anyway, he decided to scrap me. That’s where Tseng came in.” You once again checked on Tseng. He was watching you, carefully.

“We’d met a few times before. The lab was in trouble a lot then, so Turks were constantly in and out on missions. Tseng was one of them. We spoke a few times and developed something of a friendship. It was... nice.” Reno, this time, looked to Tseng who simply nodded in confirmation. “There was an explosion in the lab. Some experiment severely malfunctioned. Tseng used the chaos to slip me out. I disabled the trackers on me, and I’ve been roaming the slums ever since.” Reno seemed a little surprised at Tseng’s dissent, but not as much as you thought he’d be. Perhaps Tseng has done something similar since then? You couldn’t be too sure, but you knew Tseng was a good person. If he dubbed someone worth saving, he would do everything in his power to save them.

Reno groaned and leaned back in his seat, looking exhausted. 

“I guess that clears things up then.” You could tell he had more questions, but he looked too tired to ask them. You gave his hand a final squeeze before releasing it and looking out the window. The car had made it all the way from the Sector 4 Slums to the Shinra HQ in the time that you had been talking. You assumed that Tseng had taken some sort of secret path to get there so quickly. 

“Why weren’t we ID scanned?” you found yourself asking. Tseng had pulled into a small parking garage and was approaching a parking space.

“Turk registered vehicles are pardoned from ID scans in order to keep our movements as secret as possible.” Reno answered. He didn’t move from his spot, even as Tseng parked the car and shut it off.

“Reno,” Tseng turned in his seat to address him. “Get suited up and grab any supplies you might need. Meet me down here in thirty minutes.” Reno gave Tseng a lazy salute, not yet bothering to move. “(Y/n). Stay here and stay inconspicuous. You know what’ll happen if you get recognized.” You nodded and sunk low in your seat. Tseng offered another nod, which Reno took as his signal to get going and the two quickly exited the car. Reno murmured something about coffee and slammed the door, leaving you alone. 

You took the opportunity to lay down and relax for a bit. Half an hour wasn’t a ton of time, but you needed to conserve energy where you could and you were running low on it. Hopefully you could get your hands on some materia or food in the near future. If all else fails, you could just go outside to get energy, but that’s pretty bad for the environment.

Half an hour passed quickly and two car doors flew open. You sat back up and Reno slipped in next to you while Tseng sat in the driver's seat. Reno had changed into his Turk uniform and had his nightstick holstered at his side, a sight you were vaguely familiar with. Tseng seemed to have put on a cleaner suit, but otherwise remained unchanged in appearance. He did bring a bag with him, however. 

“Here,” Tseng said. He fished out a green materia and handed it to you. “Eat this.” You took the materia gratefully and examined it. It was a Healing Materia. You could fill on the Mako and heal your bullet holes at the same time. Perfect.

-

Reno had done as he was told and changed quickly into a suit he kept at work, grabbed his nightstick, and downed a coffee all in the instructed thirty minutes. He couldn’t let himself dwell too much on what had happened the past few hours. Maybe when Rude got back from his solo mission later today he could lend an ear.

Soon enough, he was back at the car. He’d thought on the way down to grab some muffins for the two of you, but was second guessing it by the time he reached the parking garage. Did you even eat? Come to think of it, Reno couldn’t remember ever really seeing you eat or drink. Whenever you spent time together and food was involved, it was always just him eating. You’d take a few bites, but you never finished anything. Alcohol was the same. You never drank the drinks he gave you. You just stirred it with your finger, while you watched him drink. What was that about?

Tseng was already at the car when Reno arrived, bag in tow and looking a bit more refreshed. The two didn’t say anything to each other. Instead, they wordlessly got in. Reno felt a bit bad when you had to move to let him in. You looked exhausted. He combated in his head the idea that a robot would need to sleep, but quickly set that aside. He could think about this in detail later. Regardless of everything, you were still you. And he liked you, robot or not.

He was about to offer you a muffin when he noticed Tseng pull an orb of Healing Materia from his bag. 

“Here,” he handed it to you. Was he expecting you to heal yourself? Did you even have the strength to do that? “Eat this.” 

Whoa. That’s not where he thought that was going. He watched you closely, curiosity overtaking him. You reverently pressed the materia to your lips and breathed in. With your breath, Reno watched as the Mako that once danced through the orb traveled into you, causing you to glow green for just a moment. With the mako gone, the orb turned distinctly grey and crumbled, leaving nothing in its place. 

You dusted off your hand on your pants and looked at him with a smile. You seemed much more refreshed than before.

“Much better.” You said. Before you could explain anything to Reno, Tseng cut in.

“Did you remember who the sniper was?” Your attention snapped to Tseng as he said this.

“Ah right. Yeah, I did.” You said. “He and his group sell me materia sometimes. They have a warehouse they operate out of in the Sector 4 Slums.” 

“I see.” Tseng started the car and put it into gear without another word. It looked like you guys had your target and Reno wasn’t really in the mood to get into the needless details. 

He hoped silently for a moment that they would drop you off somewhere safe. In another Sector so that you wouldn’t get involved any further. But he doubted that Tseng would actually do that. You clearly could handle yourself in a fight and you might have more information that’d be useful later, so it wouldn’t be the best idea to just let you go yet. It was also clear to Reno that, despite Tseng’s frostiness, you did mean something to him. A bitter bile rose in the back of Reno’s throat for some reason and he tried to distract himself.

\- 

“So, you eat materia?” Reno asked. His voice sounded forced and you took a moment to examine him before you answered.

“Not the materia so much as the Mako it’s made up of.” You replied. He didn’t seem upset anymore and took your answer in stride. You smiled softly at him and he suddenly made himself busy by shoving a muffin in his mouth. “My energy system runs on Mako. It’s outdated and non-self sustaining, which is another reason why Hojo wanted to scrap me.’

“How’s it work?” Reno said around a bite of muffin.

“I can absorb it through touch, but it takes a lot to keep me energized.” You sighed, thinking about how much you wanted to tell him. You felt like he deserved to know at least the jist. “Materia is the best source. It’s concentrated and a mid-level materia can keep me going for about a week. I can also absorb a bit of their magic as a result, which makes them useful for self defense.” Reno hummed in acknowledgement, finishing off the first muffin he brought and promptly starting in on the second one. 

“I can also take Mako from living things and food. There’s mako in everything that’s alive or had been alive to an extent. Of course, taking it from food and drink causes it to rot, and there isn’t a lot left in it anyway, so it’s probably the least effective option.” You checked in with Reno and he simply nodded, urging you to keep going but not meeting your eye. You imagined Tseng was listening rather intently as well.

“Living things are nice cause they just regenerate Mako from the stream over time. I can absorb a bit and they’ll be none the wiser. I have to be careful not to take too much. It could make them sick or they’ll at least notice.” You paused and debated if you wanted to say what you said next. “It’s why I do one night stands so often. You’re already lightheaded when you orgasm, feeling that a little bit more isn’t going to be that noticeable.” 

You paused and watched Reno carefully. Several emotions crossed his face. If he was upset, you felt it was well deserved. Out of all the people you had sex with, he was the one you slept with the most. Not that you took Mako from him every time. Most of the time you slept with him because you enjoyed it. You assumed that Reno understood that, because the expression he eventually landed on seemed somewhat amused. Like he was biting back a bad joke. 

“What happens if none of those are available?” he eventually asked. 

“I can take it from the planet directly, but I avoid that as much as possible.” The unspoken reason weighed a bit heavy in the car, but you were sure they understood. 

Tseng cleared his throat, catching your attention.

“We’re almost to the Sector 4 Slums.” He said. “Which warehouse was it that they operate out of?”

“I don’t know about operate, but I usually buy from them at Warehouse 3 down near the old shipping plant.” You responded. You caught Reno giving you a funny look and shrugged. “Most of their materia stock is faulty or stolen, so they sell them cheap.” 

“Uh-huh.” Reno nodded curtly and leaned forward to talk to Tseng. “Not to change the subject, but where should we meet up if we get separated? It’s not like (Y/n) can waltz right into HQ without getting a gun shoved up their ass.” 

“That is true.” Tseng conceded. There was a pause, the two of them thinking, when you chimed in.

“How about Happy Time Diner? In Upper Sector 4? I know a shortcut pretty close to the Warehouse that’d put us right near there. I’m sure you guys can find your own way to the plate easy” You suggested. The two thought about it for a moment. 

“Happy Time Diner… Where have I heard that name before?” Reno asked, scrunching his nose in confusion. 

“We went there once when you were hungover. It’s an old style place. The waitresses wear those dresses you like.” Hungover was an understatement. You’d gone after Reno went on an all night bender that involved a ton of alcohol, dubiously legal drugs, and a lot of sex. You’d taken him there in an attempt to sober him up some. He ate strawberry pancakes and you blew him in the bathroom afterward.

Reno snapped his fingers, face lighting up in recognition. 

“Ah! That’s right! Great pancakes!” He shot you a devilish smirk and you knew he wasn’t actually praising the food. “How’s that sound Boss?”

“Fine. I’m familiar with that place as well. Should we be separated, we should convene there.” Tseng said with a curt nod. The car was silent after that and you soon pulled up to the familiar sight of the shipping plant.


	4. Closure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An infiltration mission goes sour and you and Tseng have a talk.

Tseng hid the car away in a nearby security post and the three of you made your way to the old shipping plant. It was a former distribution center for military goods that was built before the annexes on the upper plates were a thing. It had been long abandoned before you were even created and the residents of the nearby slum had already picked it clean. That didn’t stop local riff raff and the occasional monster from setting up shop there though. Warehouse 3 was the smallest building of the lot and was pretty secluded, perfect for the occasional drug dealer or contraband seller to hold business. 

“Ah, before we go in.” Tseng stopped right as he was about to open the gate and turned to Reno. “I apologize for making you work on your day off Reno. I’ll be sure to find another time in your schedule to replace it.” Reno stopped, confused.

“My day off? But you said…” Reno trailed off and a half smirk etched its way onto Tseng’s face. Reno’s eyes blew wide in realization and you couldn’t help but giggle. “You were fucking with me?” Stunned, Reno looked to you for confirmation. Tseng had actually messed with him. You couldn’t decide what was cuter, Reno’s reaction or Tseng’s amusement that it had worked. 

Without saying anything, Tseng opened the gate and slipped into the work yard. Reno shook his head lightly and followed after him, you trailing behind. The three of you stuck to the shadows as you silently guided them to Warehouse 3. Tseng examined the area and quietly developed a plan.

Despite his big mouth and obnoxious behavior, Reno’s quick reflexes and cat like movements made him perfect for infiltration missions like this. So it didn’t surprise you when Tseng motioned Reno to go around and enter through the backdoor near the employee rest area. Tseng could definitely hold his own in a fight, but dodging heavier hits wasn’t his strong suit, so the two of you would go together and enter through the main door. You’d work as a tank against anyone close range, and he’d shoot anything you couldn’t reach. Just thinking about the team up gave you butterflies and you had to bite back a smile. 

Without any more delay, the three of you broke off, Reno sprinting through the overgrown weeds and you and Tseng slipping up to the main door. The sun would rise in just over an hour. Hopefully that’d give you enough time to get in and out.

Tseng quietly slid open the large door and you peered inside. The floor was completely dark, but you could see lights on in the second floor offices. The last time you were here, they’d kept their stock hidden down in the shelves and conducted the actual business up there. You nodded at Tseng and slipped inside, him right behind you. 

The warehouse was filled with old, rusty shelves that were mostly barren. Only a few boxes filled with junk were scattered around the place and the entire place smelled like dust and rats. You were careful not to let your footsteps echo as you snuck around. As you drew closer to the stairs to the second floor, however, it became apparent that being quiet wasn’t actually needed. Loud yelling bellowed out from the second floor office’s open window. 

“You absolute useless piece of shit!” A man, his voice was deep and throaty, shouted. “They probably followed you here!” You heard incoherent babbling as you and Tseng slowly climbed the stairs. It was hard to hear what the other person was saying from all the way across the building, but they sounded desperate. 

The angry man said something else, softer this time, and a gunshot rang out. You looked back at Tseng, worried. Whatever these men were up to, it wasn’t good. You could take a bullet no problem, but Tseng and Reno couldn’t. Tseng gave you a comforting look and gently nudged you forward with an elbow. 

Right. Reno and Tseng were trained for this. They’ve had years of experience in this field and practically dodge bullets every day. You regrouped and continued forward. 

It’s when you and Tseng were halfway across a catwalk that was parallel to the office window that you noticed Reno. He had made his way up the wall using some old boxes and siding and had snuck into the office through an open window undetected. He had hidden himself behind an old desk and was listening intently in on what the other men in the room were saying. There were three of them leaning over a table, talking deeply. Reno’s expression was intense. You wondered what they were saying. 

The men continued to talk and one picked up a gun. You saw the corpse in the corner and blood splattered on the wall and you grimaced. Blood splatter was not new to you, but never nice to see. You watched as the man wave the gun around a bit. He was still talking, seemingly normally, but then he pointed the gun and your blood ran cold. You stopped dead in your tracks, Tseng barely avoiding running into you, as you watched the man point the gun directly at Reno’s head. The only thing between that firearm and Reno’s skull was a flimsy piece of plywood and Reno hadn’t noticed.

You almost screamed when you heard a gunshot ring out. Your mind flashed white. When you finally looked back at the office, it was chaos. Reno was nowhere to be seen. The man was gripping his hand and the gun was on the floor. The other two men were scurrying around doing who knows what. 

You slowly looked over at Tseng. His gun was out and he looked a bit harried. He must’ve shot the gun out of the guy’s hand. 

Which means…

The lights to the warehouse flashed on with a sudden brightness that almost blinded you. You and Tseng made eye contact and nodded, bolting across the remaining catwalk. You heard shouting coming from the office and several gunshots. Sudden movement from down below caught your eye as you watched several men run into the building from the back entrance, equipped to the nines. What was going on here?

You and Tseng reached the end of the catwalk only to be met by one of the men that had been in the office. He pointed a gun at you and began firing rapidly. You charged him to draw his fire and Tseng delivered a clean shot to his head. The two of you then continued and you heard a commotion coming from downstairs. You peered over the balcony as you ran and watched as Reno expertly dealt with the armed men from before. You thought that you might’ve stopped to appreciate how cool he looked as he electrified everyone around him if you had the time. But finally you and Tseng reached the offices and you burst inside without much thought. 

A man immediately opened fire on you and you ducked back out of the room. Pressing yourself against the wall next to the door, you looked to Tseng for advice. He motioned you through, silently saying that he would cover you. Grateful, you smiled and braced yourself. 

You threw yourself into the room with a yell, startling the man. He fumbled with his gun, giving you time to run up and punch him square in the face. You heard the familiar crack of not only his nose breaking, but the bones in his skull cracking as well. He went down, unconscious if not dead, and you realized that you should hold back if you wanted to keep these guys alive long enough for Tseng and Reno to question them. 

“Don’t get distracted.” Tseng said as he strolled into the room. “There were three of them. The third one may still be in here.” Tseng held his gun at the ready and you readied yourself in case something were to jump out at you. Otherwise, you made yourself busy by searching the office for clues. The office consisted of about thirty desks blocked out by cubicles, most of which were broken or dismantled entirely. Near the window there was a big meeting space and large wooden desk that overlooked the entire warehouse. 

Tseng went to the meeting space to investigate what the men had been looking at and you decided to search the cubicles and desks for anything useful. Most of the stuff was just junk. Old papers, blueprints, contracts that were no longer valid. It had been the same the last time you were here too. 

You were sifting through some old materia shipment records when you heard running. You looked up to see the missing man, the one that had almost killed Reno, making a break for Tseng. You lunged for him, but he was too quick and you fell to the ground. You cried out and Tseng turned around, immediately opening fire at the man. It was then that you saw that the man was holding something to his chest and you panicked.

“Tseng! Sto-” Your shout came too late and Tseng shot the small bomb the man was holding. It wasn’t strong, but it was enough to kill the man and launch Tseng into the glass window behind him. 

You picked yourself up quickly and ran over, absolute terror racking your body. Thanks to the metal frames of the window, Tseng hadn’t fallen through. Instead, however, he had hit the metal head on, knocking him unconscious and shattering the glass behind him. He laid in a pile on the ground and you knelt down to check for a heartbeat. 

You found one and about cried in relief. Instead, you picked him up, careful of the glass, and put him on your back. You weren’t sure when he’d wake up, but you needed to get out of here now.

You looked out the window as Reno was delivering a particularly powerful kick to someone with a riot shield.

“Reno!” You yelled. He looked up and somehow effortlessly clocked another assailant with his nightstick. “We gotta go!” Reno looked back and forth between your concerned face and the unconscious Tseng on your back and gave and impasse wave.

“Go ahead! I’ll clean up here and we’ll meet up later.” He was almost immediately tased, which caused the man who tased him pause when Reno turned out completely unaffected. You saw Reno roll his eyes and thought you saw him say ‘Oh please,’ before twirling his nightstick and outright electrocuting the man with it. As the man fell to the floor, Reno looked up at you with a cocky smirk and gave you a thumbs up.

“Thanks.” You called back. With a final smile, you ran out of the office and looked for an exit. Finding an old fire escape, you made a mad dash for it and left without further problems. 

\- 

Thirty minutes later, you were wandering around the backstreets of the Sector 4 Slums. Tseng was securely on your back, your arms looped around his legs for support. You were worried for him. It’d been years since you’d seen each other, and when you finally did, he almost died. It was hard not to blame yourself, but you knew it wasn’t your fault. 

Tseng inhaled sharply and you felt him stir. You felt him push himself up a little, just enough to get his bearings. Then, you felt a gloved hand brush lightly against the crook of your neck and you gasped.

“Are you alright?” He asked, concern laced his voice.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” You joked. He touched your neck again and stayed there.

“There’s a bullet hole in your neck.” Oh. “Did it hit anything?”

“Nah. Nothing a quick patch job and a Cure spell won’t fix.” You had to stop and hoist him higher up on your back, jostling him. He grunted in pain as you did so. You spotted a worn down bench nearby and lowered him down on to it. 

“Here,” You said as you turned and knelt in front of him. “Let me check.” You carefully reached out and touched his cheek. His face had a few burns and you quickly cast Cura on them. They healed slowly with your touch, and all the while, Tseng watched you intently. Your face heated up under his gaze and you tried not to squirm. You suddenly felt nervous and it was hard to breath, but in a good way.

You finished with his face and moved to his chest, lightly pressing down on his sides to check for broken ribs. The streets were quiet this early in the morning, the sun lamps would come on soon and people would fill the streets with it. You wanted to enjoy this peaceful time alone with Tseng as best you could. Even if you knew it wouldn’t last.

“You’re hard to find.” Tseng said reverently. You half smiled and he matched it.

“It’s not hard to hide when you aren’t being searched for.” You responded, something bitter and disappointed tainting the butterflies in your stomach.

“I was able to convince Professor Hojo that you died in the explosion.” Amusement filled his tone and you couldn’t help but frown.

“You know that’s not what I meant.” You whispered. It was quiet again, all mirth gone from before. You noticed a tear in his shirt and began patching the contusion hidden beneath it. “It was nice seeing you again,” you said after a long pause. “I had missed speaking with you. You were my first friend.”

“I was your only friend.” He joked. You chuckled, but it couldn’t lighten the mood. Tseng sighed and placed a hand on your cheek. You finally met his eye for the first time since he woke up. “You know why it has to be this way.”

“Yeah,” you choke out. You knew he wasn’t talking about leaving you alone in the slums for so long. Or how he never contacted you. This was something that had been between the two of you since you met. 

You loved him.

He didn’t love you.

You understood. It didn’t have anything to do with you or him personally. He still cared about you, but he didn’t feel the same. You knew that. Ever since you fell in love with him, you knew. You tried so hard to get over it. To push it away. But even after all these years of never seeing him. Of not knowing if he was even alive. Your feelings were still there, breaking and crumbling while he comforted you in that back alley. 

You needed closure. You needed something. You needed…

You kissed him. 

Surprisingly, he kissed back. His lips were soft and warm as they languidly moved against yours. There was no spark, no fireworks, no big spectacle that told you that this was right. Instead, a pit formed in your stomach. You pulled away from him and the two of you shared a look. A silent apology to each other. 

Off in the distance, you heard an explosion. The two of you looked over in time to watch a cloud of debris and fire plume from where Warehouse 3 was. 

“Reno must be done cleaning up.” Tseng said. He looked back towards you, his hand still cupped your cheek. “We should get going soon.”

“Yeah,” you responded. You crossed your arms on his lap and buried your face in them. “Just a minute.” You heard Tseng sigh softly and he began running his hand through your hair. It was... comforting.

The two of you spent another twenty minutes like that in silence before the sun lamps turned on, signaling that it was time for you to go. You didn’t cry, or even feel all that sad. Maybe a little disappointed, but that was a given. 

No, you felt lighter somehow. Tseng was still your friend and you could move on. You were actually ready to move on. 

It was… nice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I condone kissing someone without their consent? Absolutely not.   
> Did I write it to show how understanding of Reader Tseng is and how desperate Reader is? Sure did.


	5. Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno fucks himself in a non-literal way.

Reno had been waiting for you and Tseng for an hour in that crappy diner. The peeling linoleum floors, kitchy jukebox music, and sexy waitress outfits could only entertain a man for so long. He’d contacted Rude and drank four cups of coffee in that time. His leg bounced nervously under the table. Reno thought the waitress noticed and switched him to decaf, something he was too preoccupied to complain about.

Was Tseng ok? It was just a minor explosion, not enough to kill anyone aside from the guy holding the bomb. Reno had checked it out while he was searching the warehouse for more information. What were you and Tseng doing? Reno’s mind flashed to dirty things. Things he had no business thinking about at the moment. Normally he’d be amused by it, maybe even let the scene play out in his head. Thoughts couldn’t hurt anyone after all. But this time, thinking about you and Tseng together  _ hurt.  _

He wasn’t stupid or blind. He saw the way you looked at Tseng. Those loving smiles and sparkling eyes. He saw how excited you got when Tseng paired off with you. It was clear to Reno that you loved Tseng, and normally, he’d just push that to the back of his mind. Keep going like he always did. 

But he saw the way Tseng looked at you too. Tseng had been bolder, funnier, even smiled more in the past twelve hours than Reno had ever seen in the several years he’d worked with him. And it was cause you were there. He smiled back when you smiled at him. He cared about you. He might even like you back, and that pissed Reno off.

And it didn’t. 

Reno couldn’t bring himself to get angry. Couldn’t understand why he felt like this. Why he felt disappointed. Why he felt upset when you left the Warehouse with Tseng on your back. 

_ “You sound heartbroken.” _ Rude had said to him over the phone. Reno hadn’t liked that. Heartbreak was for people who fell in love. For suckers who prescribe to that normal, happy life bullshit. Reno was a Turk and would die one. He wasn’t the kind of guy to want love.

Maybe he should call his mom later. She always had good advice for stuff like this.

Reno downed the rest of his coffee as you and Tseng walked in. He waved you down and his gut fluttered violently when you practically beamed at him. It got even worse when you strolled over and sat next to him, draping your arm on the seat behind him. His breath even caught in his throat when you leaned into him, and his face practically set fire when you used your opposite arm to pull him into a hug.

Shit.

“Sorry we’re late.” You said as you pulled back. The arm behind him remained, but you put a couple centimeters between you. Reno had never noticed how warm you were. 

“Yes, very sorry.” Tseng had taken the bench opposite of you guys. Aside from a few holes in his shirt, he looked fine. You must’ve healed him or something. Reno met Tseng’s eye and the man gave him a knowing smirk. It made Reno almost want to kick his ass, but before he could so much as say anything, the waitress scurried up and practically demanded an order.

Tseng ordered some eggs and a coffee. You, an orange juice that Reno had no doubts he would end up drinking now that he knew you don’t need to. And finally, he ordered a coffee, definitely caffeinated this time, and strawberry pancakes. You raised an eyebrow at him and he just shrugged and smirked back. He’d joked about you giving him a BJ here earlier, but the pancakes were actually really good too. 

When the waitress finally left, Tseng immediately switched into business mode.

“Report.” He said simply. Reno stretched his arms back until he heard a pop and then propped his arms on the table. 

“Well Boss, where should I start?” Alright. Back to what he was good at. “These guys are kinda interesting.”

“What do they want?” You asked. The waitress brought your drinks and Reno grabbed your orange juice without thinking. You didn’t seem to mind. 

“The same usual bullshit all these groups want. Bring down Shinra and everyone involved.” 

“I see.” Tseng said over his coffee. “And their plan?”

“They’re taking the smart route by tryin’ to take us out first. Seem to think that getting rid of the dogs will make the house easier to rob.” 

“Not a bad plan.” You noticed a scratch on Reno’s face and reached to heal it. Reno had to force himself to not flinch. “But not well executed.”

“Indeed.” Tseng looked like he was formulating something. “Have you talked to anyone about this?” He was asking Reno.  
“Eh. Just Rude. Figured he’d wanna know. He said he’d come help out after debriefing today.” Reno paused, trying to remember something. “Oh, and your secretary called lookin’ for ya. Said she couldn’t get ahold of ya and you got an important message from up on high.” 

Tseng nodded and the food came. Reno was quick to start in on his pancakes and Tseng made systematic work of his eggs. You leaned back in your seat and watched them. Reno noticed you watching and it reminded him that he had a gift for you. 

Reno reached into his pocket and pulled out some Luck Up Materia and snuck it to you under the table. Tseng wouldn’t have minded that he’d snuck this out of the Warehouse before destroying it, but the selfish part of Reno wanted to keep this just between the two of you. Your eyes glittered as he pressed it into your palms.

He watched as you began to absorb the materia through your fingers. Reno couldn’t help the smug smirk that stretched across his face. Ok. Maybe it was an actual smile. Whatever. 

He watched with vested interest as the mako particles flowed into your hands, You looked so peaceful and happy doing that. So relieved. He propped his head on the table and continued shoveling pieces of pancake into his mouth. At some point he realized Tseng was staring at him, but Reno really couldn’t find a shit to give.

Eventually, Tseng cleared his throat and Reno had to acknowledge him. You were startled to attention too and you both looked at him expectantly. He had a small, relieved smile on his face. Reno suddenly felt nervous.

“When will we meet Rude?” Tseng asked. Reno checked the time on his phone.

“‘Bout two hours. He was gonna pull some files and do some research before meetin’ up. He figured he might be able to find something with the information I gave him.” 

“Perfect. That gives us time to prepare.” Tseng stood up from the table and walked towards the register. “Let’s get going.”

Reno shoved the last of his pancakes into his mouth as he /watched you quickly absorb the rest of the materia he gave you. You slid out and stood at the table, waiting for him. He downed the last of the orange juice and slid out as well. The smile you offered him made him smile back and he found himself looping his arm with yours. You looked surprised, but went with it, and the two of you walked the entire way to the car like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing pining Reno is a lot of fun. He's definitely not a romantic in anyway, and he's a dumbass, so figuring out how he might feel when falling in love is a fun challenge.


	6. Approval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go on a (kind of) date with Rude.

“It was just a hug.” You quietly insisted over Tseng’s shoulder. The three of you had been driving around to different annexes and guard stations, picking up intel and supplies for the past hour and a half. They had just finished up at the Sector 5-6 Annex securing backup security guards when Reno got a call. Tseng had gone ahead and gotten into the car to wait for him, and you took the opportunity to clarify something that Tseng had been silently teasing you about since the diner. 

“I never said it wasn’t.” Tseng replied. You could tell he was just toying with you. You frowned. He’d been shooting you “knowing looks” and “teasing smiles” since you hugged Reno at the diner. They got even worse when you and Reno had walked out of the restaurant with arms interlocked. The entire thing was very embarrassing.

“Well, it was.” You retorted lamely. Of course you needed a hug right then! Tseng had just dumped you! Er… well… not dumped you. Let you down easy? That was certainly a simple way of putting it. Whatever. You needed the physical comfort and Reno was the best option for the job.

You wrestled with this for another five minutes while Tseng subtly watched in the mirror. You were tempted to snap at him, but before you could, Reno swung open the car door and climbed in. He sat up front this time, which you found rather disappointing for some reason. 

“Rude’s status?” Tseng asked.

“Says he’ll meet us at the 2-3 Annex. Apparently, he found out where their HQ is. He’ll give us the details when we get there.” Reno sounded irritated.

“Anything else?” 

“Not really.”

“That was an awfully long call for such little information.” Tseng pointed out. Reno scoffed and slouched in his seat. 

“Don’t worry about it. Partner just felt like he needed to lay down some stuff I already know.” He looked exhausted and stared bitterly at his lap. Tseng didn’t seem to want to push him anymore and started the car. You, however, were still worried.

“Are you ok?” You found yourself asking as you reached forward to brush a chunk of hair out of his face. He flinched away from you, causing you to quickly retract your hand. Not answering or even looking at you, Reno turned his whole body away to stare out the window.

You caught Tseng’s pitying glance in the mirror as you processed what just happened. You felt like something had just pierced your heart. Reno could be a huge dick, especially when he was upset. Why did that hurt as much as it did?

You folded in on yourself and the car ride to the Sector 2-3 Annex was quiet.

-

Reno was pissed. Not just at Rude for trying to give him “the talk” when he brought up how he’d been feeling recently. Or about the ensuing lecture he’d received when he made a joke about _ him _ of all people “liking” someone. Or at how he just hurt your feelings because he can’t get over himself for five minutes. Or even at the withering glare Tseng shot him right before Reno decided he was absolutely done with all of this emotional bullshit and decided to block everything out. Love was a stupid mess and a bad show of vulnerability and he didn’t have time for that crap. He just had to get over his little… crush, and then he could go back to being his normal badass self. 

It’d be easier if he didn’t have to see you. Maybe after they met up with Rude, he could convince you to go back to wandering. Then he wouldn’t have to see you for awhile and everything could go back to normal. 

The car pulled up to the Sector 2-3 Annex as Reno tried to convince himself that that was what he wanted. Rude was sitting on a bench at the edge of the secured parking lot and Reno could tell even from a distance that the man wasn’t happy. Considering that Reno had hung up on him after yelling at him to mind his own damn business, Reno wasn’t surprised. 

Tseng parked the car and the two of them got out. You stayed in the car for obvious reasons. They made their way to the bench and Rude met them halfway.

“Hey, Partner.” Reno said, trying to sound casual.

“Reno.” Rude replied flatly. Oh yeah, he was still mad.  _ Great. _

“Rude. What’s your report on the current situation?” Tseng cut in. Reno felt a bit relieved. Leave it to Tseng to get right to the point.

“Sir.” Rude pulled a file out of his breast pocket and handed it to Tseng. “The group calls themselves “Vive.” They’re a small organization bent on tearing down Shinra and bringing power back to the people.”

“I see. What’s their motivation?” Tseng asked while scanning through the file.

“Their biggest platform is workers’ rights, or so it seems. Their leader, a man that goes by the name of Victor Tressemont, had been arrested multiple times in the past for trying to incite rebellions among the slum dwellers. Apparently, he was born on the Upper plate, but when his father died of overwork, he and his mother were forced to move down into the slums to support themselves. His mother died a while later from a health condition.”

“Any idea where we might find Mr. Tressemont?” Tseng snapped the file closed and looked at Rude expectantly. Rude adjusted his sunglasses and stood at attention, hands behind his back. He was always so serious around the boss. 

“It appears that their headquarters are in the Sector 2 Slums in an old school building near the center of town. I scouted ahead and did confirm that Victor Tressemont is located there and will likely be there for awhile.”

“Good work.” Tseng pushed back his sleeve and checked his watch. “We leave for Sector 2 at sundown. Reno and I will continue preparations.” Tseng fished the car keys out of his pocket and handed them to Rude. “You must be tired Rude. Take a drive.”

Rude accepted the keys with a nod. Reno felt like he should protest or at least kick up a fuss. Maybe say something sarcastic at least, but he wasn’t in the mood. He didn’t like the idea of the two people he was closest to being together without him there. Thinking about what you could say to each other about him, the secrets you could share, made him antsy. 

But Tseng’s word was law, and Reno didn’t have the energy to argue with him. Tseng and Rude broke off their conversation with a curt nod and Tseng made his way towards the annex. Rude made his way to the car without so much as looking at Reno, which irked Reno a little bit more than he’d like to admit. But he didn’t have the time to confront his friend. Instead, he followed Tseng into the annex without a word.

-

You’d watched the conversation from the car, happy for the fully tinted windows. The man that you’d recognized as Rude was just as Reno had described him the few times he’d talked about him. Official looking, well built, pretty cool. He fit the idea of a Turk extremely well, though he seemed a bit awkward the more you watched him move and speak. 

You watched as Tseng and Reno disappeared into the annex and Rude approached the car. Wordlessly, he entered and sat in the driver’s seat, starting the car and leaving the annex. You watched him carefully through the entirety of it. A fifteen minute drive later, Rude parked the car in a pay-to-park lot and shut it off. The two of you sat there for a couple minutes, waiting.

“So, you’re (Y/n)?” Rude finally asked. You nodded.

“And you’re Rude?” He nodded in return. There was a relapse in silence and you wondered what there even was to talk about. If Reno were here, he’d probably find something you had in common or say something crass you could build off of. But he wasn’t. 

After a little while longer, Rude sighed and took off his gloves and suit jacket. He folded them neatly and placed them on the passenger seat, then got out of the car. He opened your door and gestured for you to get out as well.

“C’mon.” He said. “Let’s go for a walk.” You climbed out of the car and Rude shut it behind you. He quickly walked off and you had to jog to catch up with him. Once you did, you fell instep and quietly alongside him, shoving your hands in your jacket pockets for something to do.

Rude had taken you to an entertainment district in Sector 2, not unlike the Loveless district, but a bit more geared towards children. You could see a small amusement park off in the distance as you walked through the crowded streets. You looked at it with great interest, having never been to one, and it seemed Rude took notice.

“Ever been on a ferris wheel before?” Rude asked. You shook your head and he smiled at you. “Well, there’s a first time for everything. I’ll pay.” Confused but not willing to argue, you followed Rude to the amusement park. He paid the admission fee and an employee that was far too chipper to be a real person stamped the back of your hand. 

The amusement park was a rather famous one, known for its death defying rides that hung over the side of the Upper Plate. That being said, it was pretty busy and the sidewalks thrummed with people as Rude led you to the back of the park. It was almost overwhelming how many people there were and how much there was to see. It was hard to focus and you nearly ran into Rude when he abruptly stopped. Looking up, you saw the absolutely enormous ferris wheel.

“The line starts here.” Rude said as he turned to you. Crossing his arms, he looked you up and down, evaluating you. You, in turn, did the same to him. He was stern, unapproachable, strict in moral fiber and being. You liked him. He seemed like a good match for Reno.

“So,” You said, trying to make small talk. “I take it you’ve been on a Ferris Wheel before?” Rude hummed in the affirmative. The line moved forward.

“Growing up, my family and I would come to the park once a year. My siblings would ride the roller coasters over and over again, but I always liked the ferris wheel.” The line moved again, farther this time. Maybe halfway there? “Then, when I got older, I’d take dates here. A lot of girls would pretend to be scared and it was a good excuse to cozy up to them.” Again farther. You nodded as the two of you moved. 

“Then, I became a Turk and got too busy. Still try to go on my off days though.” Almost to the boarding deck, just a few more people. “This ferris wheel is special y’know.” You didn’t know. One more person. You suddenly realized you were nervous. “It’s the biggest ferris wheel in Midgar. You can see practically everything from the top.” The two of you were next. You felt hot and panicky. “It also moves incredibly slow.” Your turn. The car came and the door opened for you. Rude gestured for you to enter first. “Which means we have plenty of time to talk.”

You walked in, refusing to show hesitancy, and took your seat. Rude followed and sat across from you. The door closed mechanically and the ride continued to move. The two of you were silent. You hoped you didn’t look too nervous. Was it your nerves from the ride or the idea of being trapped in a space alone with Rude? You weren’t sure. 

“So, Reno huh?” He said once you were a third of the way up. You sucked in a sharp breath through your nose.

“What about him?” You forced out. Rude crossed his legs, ankle over knee, and leaned forward.

“What’s your business with him?” Ah. So, this was an interrogation. 

“We’re… friends with benefits. That’s all.” You tried to play it cool, but you could feel your face heat up. You were telling the truth. Why did it feel like you were lying? You couldn’t meet his eyes and stared out the window.

“Uh huh.” Rude leaned back and adjusted his sunglasses. “I don’t think that’s true.” You summoned your inner strength and looked over to him, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh really?” You felt exposed, but ignored it.

“Yeah.” There was a pregnant pause. The ferris wheel was almost to the top. “Do you know how much I have to hear Reno talk about you?” He sounded extremely annoyed and you laughed.

“No, it’s a lot, I take it?” 

“He never shuts up about you when you’re around.”

“He never shuts up period.” You quip. Rude broke into a half smirk and you felt like you’d accomplished something.

“That being said.” Rude continued. “I figured it’d be a matter of time before you got dragged into something. Naturally, I was worried. The life of a Turk is a dangerous one. Not everyone can handle being one or being… affiliated with one.” You nodded in understanding. “Given the recent… information that’s come to light about you, however. I think my worries might be unfounded.”

“Worries like…?” You led him to continue. The ferris wheel stopped at the top and you looked out. The view was breathtaking as the sun continued its slow descent towards the horizon. You’d seen this on a TV once. It didn’t compare to the real thing.

“Your wellbeing and Reno’s feelings mostly. After talking to Reno today and meeting you in person, though, I think everything will be alright. For now, atleast.” You nodded, not one hundred percent sure what he meant.

“Reno’s feelings?” You pressed for more clarification, but Rude just shook his head.

“Ask him yourself, when this is all over. Maybe he’ll pull his head out of his ass long enough to tell you.” Rude then looked out the window and you felt the conversation end there. The car started back up and neither of you talked the whole ride down. Instead, your mind lingered on Reno.

He had… feelings? Towards you? Like more than drinking together and fucking? Even thinking it made your breath catch. You tried to shake the thoughts out of your head. You just got over Tseng! Why are you moving so fast! You’re an adult. You can’t just get carried away on flights of fancy like this.

Your mind flashed to earlier in the car, when Reno had flinched away from you. Your stomach dropped as you thought about it.

No. 

He probably didn’t have those kinds of feelings. 

You bit that unwanted disappointment down as you and Rude disembarked the ferris wheel. The two of you had time, so Rude took you on a few more rides and showed you around. Talk was sparse, but he didn’t seem like the chatty type anyway, and the two of you had fun regardless. 

When the sun began to set low and the sky turned orange, Rude told you it was time to go. The two of you headed back to the car with relative ease and you climbed in up front with him. Rude sent a message to Reno and Tseng, telling them that the two of you were on your way. Some of the nervousness from earlier picked up again, this time for a different reason, as the car headed back to the annex. You pushed it to the side and braced yourself for what was next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rude strikes me as the type to be an excellent friend.


	7. Admission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not good at action scenes. Can you tell?

When you and Rude picked up Tseng and Reno from the annex, you could tell Reno was in an even worse mood than before. He climbed into the backseat with Tseng and immediately began to sulk as Rude drove the car down to Sector 2.

You tried your best to hold a conversation with the three men, feeling rather chatty yourself, and was pleasantly surprised. You found that Rude was much like Tseng in the sense that he was quiet, but polite and conversational. The three of you conversed casually, Reno jumping in quick to add some sarcastic comment or crass joke. You were just happy he was trying, given that his mood still hadn’t let up by the time you reached the Sector 2 Undercity. 

Rude parked the car at a security checkpoint and the four of you exited quickly. Reno, Rude, and yourself waited outside while Tseng gave instructions to the security officers there, and then the four of you were off.

The Sector 2 Slums were pretty different from the others. Most slums were built from the ground up using scrap and ruin from the old city that existed before the plate. Most of the old buildings were unusable and torn down or repurposed, but pretty much all of the old buildings in Sector 2 remained. The citizens of the slum made their homes and businesses out of these buildings, carving themselves their own place amongst the history of Midgar. 

The building you found yourself in front of was an old junior high school. The citizens of the slums had slated it to be turned into apartments at one point, but the conversion had been halted for some reason. It made sense that this rebellion had made its home here. The building was just run down and scary enough that kids wouldn’t go poking around at night, but just safe enough to be usable. 

The building was completely dark as the four of you snuck up to it and split up. The plan was simple. You’d bust down the front door and make a distraction. Tseng and Reno would sneak in from the sides, and Rude would climb the fire escape to the roof and work his way down. The four of you would assist each other as needed. Victor Tressemont was to be captured and taken in for “questioning.”

You took your position in a bush by the front door as the others quickly went to their own. Tseng had told you to wait exactly five minutes and then to start. And so, you waited, counting the minutes. Your inner clock was pristine and exact to the millisecond, and after exactly five minutes, you hopped the handrail to the school entrance and kicked down the door.

The next few minutes were a blur. Several goons shot at you at once and you tried to make quick work of them before they hurt you too badly. Just as you felt like you’d finished them off, more would swarm in from different parts of the school and you would have to fight again.

Eventually it was down to you and one other guy. He had bad hair and a superiority complex a mile wide, which made kicking the shit out of him extremely satisfying. You finally had gotten him to tell you his name, James or something, and since it wasn’t the guy you were looking for, you gave yourself the green light to absolutely destroy him.

With that out of the way, you listened. Above, you heard the commotion Rude was making with his opponents. You discerned he was pretty close to done. Listening down the hall that Tseng had been incharge of, you heard numerous gunshots and cries of pain. You peaked through the hall door’s window and watched as Tseng made quick work of a few goons before deliberately walking into a room with his gun drawn. He very clearly had things under control.

Finally, you listened in on Reno. Avoiding being seen through the window, you slipped up to the door and listened. It was… quiet. Strange. You peered through the window. The window that Reno was supposed to break through was clearly visible and had been shattered. So Reno had obviously gotten in. Where was he? You had a terrible feeling in your gut. 

Other than the broken window, there were a few guys with guns walking in and out of a room. They apparently hadn’t noticed the total siege that was happening in every other part of the building, which worked for you. You bound into the hallway quickly and took the guys out, forcing your way into the room they’d been preoccupied with. There, in the middle of the room, stood another weirdo, his boot firmly pressed into an unconscious Reno’s head.

You saw red.

  
  


-

Everything happened in a blur, and by the time you’d calmed down, you were walking through the streets with a still unconscious Reno in your arms. You were supposed to be heading to a safehouse that the Turks kept in the Sector 2 Upperplate, but you felt the need to stall. Tseng said that Reno’s injuries weren’t too serious anyway, so you felt like you were ok just walking around with him.

The street you found yourself on was dark and deserted. Aside from the sounds of distant gunfire and security vehicles in the distance, it was quiet and you found yourself watching Reno’s face as you walked. It was strange seeing him so peaceful and calm. It was only something you’d seen on the occasion that you’d actually been able to convince him to sleep. 

But holding him and watching him dream in bed, and carrying him unconscious through the streets were very different things.

As you watched his long eyelashes flutter, something odd struck you.

You didn’t know what the other people you slept with looked like when they slept. Or ate. Or genuinely laughed. Or anything really. 

You hadn’t bothered to remember or even stick around to experience that with anyone else. Even the other few people you slept with more than once. It never felt worth the time. Not like with Reno.

You’d had more new experiences with Reno than anyone else. Exciting ones, sure. Sexual ones even more so. But mundane ones too.

Waking up in the morning together. Making breakfast. Soft kisses just because. It all seemed so natural at the time. Performative even. But now things were starting to make sense. The funny feelings you got around him. The anxiety that came with them that made you leave every time you and he had spent too much time together. The feeling that you were betraying Tseng by staying too long.

Maybe Tseng hadn’t been the only one you’d been in love with all these years.

Maybe you were in love with Reno.

Maybe.

-

Reno awoke and immediately continued to pretend to be asleep. It was a skill he had had to learn on the off chance he’d get captured and didn’t want to alert anyone that he was awake.

Today had fucking sucked.

After you and Rude had left to god knows where, Tseng and he had made arrangements with the annex for more back up troops and a clean up squad. On their way out, Reno had tried to talk Tseng into getting you to bail before they did the raid. It somehow escalated into a heated argument about yours and Tseng’s relationship. It was extremely unprofessional and Reno was embarrassed just thinking about it.

But he did learn that you and Tseng weren’t together, which made him happier than he’d like to admit. 

Just as he was cooling off, you and Rude came back all buddy buddy and talking like you’d known each other for years. What’s worse is that after he got stuck riding in back with Tseng, he found out that his  _ partner  _ had taken you to an amusement park of all places. You’d even rode the ferris wheel together! Like a date!

The entire thing pissed him off even worse and he could barely say three words without wanting to cuss someone out. Tseng had given some stern glares, but Reno ignored them and tried to keep to himself the entire ride down. 

His thought process was interrupted as the pain receptors in his brain switched back on. Alerting him that he was, in fact, in agony. He kept his face trained and set, still pretending to be knocked out, and tried to figure out where he was. 

He was being carried. Bridal style. Not really something someone who wanted you dead would take care in doing. But then again, a lot of the guys Reno fought were freaks, so who knows.

He listened carefully for anything. There was the sound of the raid in the distance. The crunch of shoes on gravel below him. And finally, a soft, nearly missable sigh. He recognized that. It was you. 

Reno’s eyes fluttered open and met your own. You stared down at him with that unreadable expression that Reno didn’t like thinking about, and it took you a moment to realize he was actually awake. You startled a bit, blinking rapidly.

“Oh, you’re awake.” You said. You sounded embarrassed, but Reno didn’t want to think about that right now.

“What happened?” Reno drawled. He found it hard to talk.

“Well, I found you knocked out and had to rescue you.” You replied, Reno scowled at the “rescue” part, but didn’t say anything. “Once you were safe, I reported to Tseng who told me that he had called backup. He said I should leave so I won’t get seen and asked me to take you with me.”

“Why’s that?” Reno said, the smooth steps and gentle rocking motion you were making while walking made him almost want to go back to sleep, but he forced himself to stay awake.

“He said something about not wanting to overwhelm you with the security team’s fussing. Sounded kinda like bullshit, but I wasn’t gonna argue with him.” Reno agreed that that was a bullshit excuse, but was also kinda grateful. The security troops were so annoying.

The hand you had supporting his back began to slip and you had to jostle him to adjust. Much to the detriment of his slowly growing comfort, the place you grabbed sent sparks of raw pain through his entire body and he hissed in pain. You quietly apologized and sped over somewhere. Quickly setting him down, you went immediately to work unbuttoning his jacket and shirt the rest of the way and checking his abdomen for wounds or broken ribs. 

He watched you carefully as you worked, concern evident your face, and thought about how he got here in the first place.

Reno had been so pissed about what had happened today that it clouded his judgement. He’d underestimated his opponents and they got the drop on him. He’d deserved to be knocked out. Hell, he deserved to be dead. You had to rescue him. Pull him from certain death all cause he was a jealous prick.

Huh.

Jealous.

He was jealous. 

Reno had made it his business to never get jealous in relationships. Or well, to never get close to anybody enough that jealousy might be an issue. But here he was.

He was in love with you.

He couldn’t fight it off anymore. 

You were rambling about something to him. Something about his rib being bruised or broken or whatever. He couldn’t really give a shit. He needed to articulate how he felt. Somehow. He needed to tell you.  _ Wanted  _ to tell you. He…

“Hey.”

\- 

You looked up at Reno when he spoke suddenly. He hadn’t said anything since you set him down and you’d been trying to fill the silence by telling him what you were doing, but he’d been zoning out the entire time. And then he spoke up, mid-sentence. His soft blue eyes were glassy, his face red. He looked like he might cry and your heart ached.

“Kiss me.” He said. You froze, heart leaping into your throat. It wasn’t a question or a demand, barely an invitation. The two of you stared in silence at each other as you processed it. Dawning realization finally crossed your face and you slowly rose on your knees. Your hands moved deliberately, carefully. One cupped the side of his face and the other went to his shoulder. The entire time you kept eye contact, checking over and over again. 

He was serious. 

He knew what he asked. 

He wanted you to do this.

His eyes slid closed as you grew closer. You could feel his breath on your skin and your eyes slid shut as well. Finally, you closed the space between you. 

His lips were warm and soft as you pressed yours to his. A pleasant warmth spread through your body as the two of you slowly and sweetly moved your lips together. You’d kissed Reno countless times before, but this one felt different. You put all of your feelings into it. All of the love for him you denied yourself over these past few years. All of the things you wanted to share with him and memories you wanted to make in the future.

This kiss was an admission.

And with the way that Reno was holding you to him. And how tenderly he was kissing you back. 

It might just be an admission for him as well.


	8. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An epilogue of sorts.

It’d been a few months since you and Reno kissed in Sector 2. You’d be lying if you said that everything had changed. Frankly, it didn’t. Reno still worked ridiculously hard and almost constantly, nearly dying in the process. You still wandered Midgar, avoiding trouble and somehow getting into it at the same time. 

Well, things with Reno did change a little. You still met up with Reno and had sex and got into weird situations. He’d still drag you on benders that lasted days on end and wound up with the two of you naked and tangled up on his couch, talking about nothing. You’d still search for him in crowds at party spots, hoping to catch a glimpse of his bright red hair and dumb smirk. 

The only difference now was that the two of you were far more deliberate with it. 

Reno and you would meet whenever he had free time, even in passing. Partying and bar hopping became less a necessity of your lifestyle and more of something to do to enjoy. Reno’d sometimes send you messages, weird pictures, small gifts, whenever he thought of you and you’d do the same. It was certainly an… improvement to your relationship. 

But you didn’t really know what that relationship was. 

And… It kinda frustrated you. 

But today wasn’t the day to bother with that. You had a “date” with him today. An unorthodox one, but Reno was an unorthodox guy. 

You heard a  _ ‘ping’ _ from your pocket and dug out your burner phone. It had been Tseng’s idea to get you one. Buy a prepaid cell phone and switch it out every couple of weeks. That way, you can keep in touch with Reno and not worry about being tracked. Just in case.

You had received a message from said man, asking if you were almost there. You typed a quick affirmative and picked up the pace, making your way down the back streets of Wall Market. 

Ever since Reno had found out about your… robotic nature, he’d been trying to convince you to spar with him. He claimed he wanted to see your abilities, both fighting and mechanical, at their full potential. Naturally, you were pretty hesitant considering you could shatter a man’s bones with just a punch, but Reno insisted he’d be fine. He buttered you up by offering to hunt down some top notch Healing Materia and letting you choose the date next time. You found yourself agreeing and here you were. 

You found the building Reno had told you about with relative ease and entered. It was unmarked and unassuming, but the inside showed its purpose with pride. It was a gym, much like the one near the colosseum, but instead of body builders and tourists, this one catered to more… seedy clientele.

An old man slouching on a folding chair caught your eye. He glared at you and nodded towards a door in the back. You nodded in thanks, guessing that Reno had told him you were coming, and wordlessly crossed the room. 

Opening the door, you were greeted with the sight of a large exercise room. The floors were covered in blood stained, blue padding mats and the walls were lined with mirrors. In the far corner, there was a closet that probably had a mixture of exercise equipment and practice weapons, though the word “practice” was definitely moot at this establishment.

Reno was already here. He was stretching in the corner opposite you next to a worn out, Shinra issue gym bag. He noticed you as you walked in and closed the door behind you. With an absolute feral grin, he stood up and sped over to you. He was clearly excited, and with the tight tank top and form fitting gym shorts he was wearing, you had to admit that you were pretty excited yourself.

“Hey, (Y/n).” Reno strode up to you and pulled you into a searing kiss. When he was done, he pulled back just a fraction. “Are you ready for today?”

“Somebody’s fired up.” You muttered. You’re half tempted to lock the door, knowing that getting frisky was definitely on the table, but unsure if locking the only door between you and getting Reno to a hospital was a good idea.

“Of course I am.” He said back. He grabbed your ass, causing you to jolt, before sauntering away. You made your decision then and there and reached behind you to turn the deadbolt. “I’ve been waiting for this for ages!” Regardless of his antics, Reno did seem genuinely excited and you couldn’t help but smile.

You walked over and dropped your own bag next to his while he finished stretching. Not having muscles yourself, you didn’t need to stretch, and instead removed your jacket and sat down to relax. 

“Oh, before I forget.” Reno called out, in the middle of some sort of pose that would probably break a normal person’s spine. “Found something you might like! In the bag!” He rolled out of that pose and into another one as you grabbed his gym bag and dragged it over. 

Inside was the Healing Materia he promised you, which you happily took for yourself, as well as his neatly folded work clothes, his black dress shoes, and a pair of his favorite style of goggles.

You quickly absorbed the materia, feeling a little low on power anyway, and stood up. Reno had finished stretching and was waiting for you. 

“You ready?” He asked. You stepped forward and got into a fighting stance, Reno doing the same. The two of you had agreed to go without weapons today. You both reasoned that fighting with or without were two different things, and since you were measuring fighting ability alone, it’d be more even if you just used fists. 

You took a deep breath, bounced back and forth on your toes a bit, and said “yes.” Immediately, Reno shot forward, aiming a fist directly at your face, you sidestepped it best you could and grabbed his arm as he passed. You then used his momentum to flip him and pin him to the ground. 

“What the hell?” He grumbled as you let him up. He stood and straightened his clothes while giving you a funny look. You shrugged.

“It was a fluke.” You insisted. He rolled his eyes and got back into stance. You smiled and did the same.

The thing was…

It  _ was  _ a fluke.

Reno had just had the misfortune of coming at you with the single easiest attack for you to block. When time was called and you began to spar again, Reno hit you with a quick barrage of attacks that had you struggling. His fighting style was quick and electric, hit multiple places multiple times and do  _ not  _ let your opponent recover long enough to hit you. You thought that, maybe, since Reno focused more on getting in multiple hits at a time, that his punches wouldn’t be full ones. But you were wrong. Reno hit  _ hard  _ and  _ fast  _ and moved so lithely that it was nearly impossible for you to get a proper hit on him.

Of course, he had a weakness. You’d watched him move and fight enough to notice it. He’d put all of his energy into a series of attacks, only to grow tired and leave himself open to a counter. Once countered, he’d usually be stunned long enough to get a few hits on him. So, you dug down, did your best to block him, and waited. 

After narrowly dodging an otherwise solid kick to the face, holy shit he wasn’t holding back  _ at all _ , you spotted an opening. Throwing a quick punch to the gut, you staggered him. While he was distracted, you threw a powerful kick that launched him against the wall and you darted over. He seemed to regain himself in that time, and he dodged a particularly powerful punch of yours, rolling out of your reach. 

When you missed him, you hit the mirror instead, shattering it. You pulled your fist out of the glass and examined it. Your knuckles were shredded. You could see the mechanical parts that made up the framework of your hand and it caused you to grimace. 

You realized then that there was no “winning” this for either of you. Reno didn’t have the ability in the setting of a fight to tell when enough was enough. One of you was going to end up in a lot of pain by the end of this sparring match and you weren’t very fond of the implications of that. 

It was either lose miserably, or beat Reno until he couldn’t get back up. You decided on a third option.

Fighting dirty.

You turned from the mirror and locked eyes with an expectant Reno, who had been waiting for you to collect yourself. You readied your stance and gestured for him to come at you once more, which he did with great enthusiasm. He threw countless punches and kicks at you, but rather than trying to fight back, you focused on dodging. You danced around his movements, blocking where you had to, before an opening came up. You used said opening to grab his hip and squeeze it. He seemed confused, maybe a bit red in the face, but he quickly recovered and began his assault once more.

You repeated this song and dance for some time. He would attack and leave an opening. You would do something: run a hand down his chest, nibble at his ear, grab his ass, etc.. You knew his weak points and could target them easily. It wasn’t long until he got sloppy. 

You easily dodged a punch to the face and ran a hand under his shirt, reaching his chest and squeezing the best you could given the position. He groaned and jumped back. His face was red, eyes dilated, breathing heavy. 

You had won.

To solidify this, you deliberately marched up to him, pushing him back until he hit the wall behind him. You forced his legs apart with your knee and caged his head in with your arms and  _ smirked _ . Reno scowled and suddenly his hand was in your hair and his tongue was in your mouth.

The kiss was desperate,  _ needy.  _ Moans and wet sounds filled the room as the two of you attempted to  _ ravish  _ the other. At one point, you’d shifted your position so that you could properly grind against each other and the sweet friction sent sparks crackling into your brain. 

Eventually, you pulled away to let Reno breathe and propped your forehead against his. His eyes were glazed over, lips red and raw, and was gasping for every ounce of air he could get. He looked  _ wrecked. _ You knew you probably looked the same.

“So,” he said after a minute or so. His voice was rough, husky. “You liked your gift?” Your brain paused for a moment, too hopped up on endorphins to think properly.

“The materia? Yeah. Thanks.” You said, breathlessly. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t gotten you before, and it was technically a bribe, but it was still nice to get something. He rolled his eyes.

“No, dumbass.” Reno gave your hip a gentle squeeze before ducking under your arm and walking over to your bags. He sat down and dug through his, pulling out a small box. “This.” He waved it over his head and you ventured to join him on the floor. 

After you sat down next to him, he popped the box open. Inside on a bed of cotton was a ring. It was simple, silver. Your eyes widened a fraction and you looked to him for an explanation.

“It’s a… promise ring.” Reno seemed embarrassed and couldn’t look you in the eye. “It was Rude’s idea. Said it could symbolize our commitment to each other, or whatever.” His confidence was faltering, an incredibly rare occurrence, and his face was set in an unsure frown. 

Like you might say no.

Fuck that.

You reached up and gently clasped his cheek, pushing him to look at you. You then placed a soft kiss on his lips and smiled.

“Ok.” You said, doing your best to repress the joy bubbling in your chest.

“Ok.” He responded, a small smile of his own forming. He took the ring from the box and tossed the box back in his bag. Then with his free hand, he carefully grabbed your left one. He checked in with you one more time, silently asking if it was ok. You nodded and he slipped the ring on your ring finger.

Your smile widened as you stared at the ring. You then looked at him. He was giving you that look again.The one that told you everything. That he loved you. That he’d always find his way back to you. That you’d always be his. You could be yourself with this man. You didn’t have to hide. You loved him more than anything.

The two of you leaned in to kiss each other. Soft, slow, sweet. Things might not change too much, but for you, this was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first fanfic in literal years is finally over. 
> 
> Reno doesn't seem like the type to fall in love at all. He's more of a workaholic, live by the sword/die by the sword type. Which is what made writing this so much fun. I got to flesh out a side of him that we don't get to see. He's already a multi-faceted character, so building off of that was a lot of fun!


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